Sworn Love
by LavenderBlossom74
Summary: Percy finds out that even when he has one of his not-so-finest moments, Annabeth will always be there beside him... In the good times and the bad. AU One-Shot


**Disclaimer: I do not own the book series "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" or any of the Percy Jackson books, movies, etc.**

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 _I think that's why I want to be an architect. To build something permanent. A monument to last a thousand years._

 _~Annabeth Chase_

 **/0/0/0/0/0/**

The gray - eyed blonde put her hand on his forehead and then on his cheeks. Heat immediately scorched her palms. His face was warm - too warm. Her eyebrows scrunched together in concern as her hand began to withdraw from his cheek. Suddenly a hand shot out from under the covers and grasped on it, drawing her palm back and pressing it against the side his cheek. His emerald eyes closed briefly, a sound of quiet relief exhaling from his dry lips.

After a few seconds, he released her hand as abruptly as he'd grabbed it and reopened his bleary orbs. Annabeth blinked. A tense silence enveloped between the two.

"I brought you some Gatorade. And medicine." She blurted out with quickly and gestured to Percy's nightstand. Then she made haste to get out of the room before she could do anything stupid like cry.

She could leave now. She _should_ leave now.

She could go to work and pretend her husband wasn't so sick that he couldn't even get out of bed. Pretend that each hacking cough and each painful breath he inhaled didn't squeeze at her heart like claws. No one would blame her.

Because she didn't owe him _anything!_ Just five days ago he-he'd spat in her face... He'd used her greatest vulnerability against her! And now was she expected to help him in his greatest time of need when he hadn't so much as bothered to apologize?! He was supposed to be loyal; that was his vulnerability. He'd told her before. But that day? He'd left her, abandoned her, left her to fend for herself. She'd been hurt—by him! He didn't fulfill his promise—the promise to remain by her side and never leave her.

Percy Jackson didn't deserve her care. He didn't deserve it! He _didn't!_

But Annabeth knew; she knew… Whether Seaweed Brain deserved it or not, she would give her love anyway. No matter what happened or what he did, she would stay at his side. She would never be able to leave Percy. Sweet adorable Percy, with his brilliant green eyes.

Wiping a lone tear off her cheek, she inhaled. She'd done enough crying to last her a lifetime. She had a job to do.

First, she called _Chariot_ ( the company she and Percy were co-owners for) and told them that neither she or Percy would be able to assist that day as they were both terribly sick. She apologized profusely to the secretary for such a late notice but the kind old woman assured her it was fine. Annabeth thanked her and hung up.

Now to do something about the fact that her stomach was growling a hundred miles an hour... And probably Percy's too.

Swiftly, her hands went to work. Settling into the soft rhythm of chopping, stirring, and flipping, she didn't even notice time go by and it seemed as if in the blink of an eye, fried eggs, blue waffles, milkshakes, and chopped fruit appeared out of nowhere.

As soon as she'd eaten her fill, she grabbed a second plate and tossed some chopped strawberries, bananas, grapes, and blueberries. Every single one of the fruits were blue-even the ones that weren't naturally that color. It was a habit, that blue dye thing. She literally tossed flavorless blue food coloring into practically everything she made. Percy had an obsession with blue food and well... Yeah.

The guy could actually cook too. And in the process not only manage to not burn the house down (as most guys tended to do), but also make some pretty delicious meals too. Anyway.

Lastly Annabeth tossed a blue waffle into the mix, and headed towards Percy's room. Taking a deep, if quiet, breath, she pushed the door open for the second time that morning.

Pushing a strand of hair back nervously she walked towards Percy and gently shook him awake. Once again for the second time. His flashing green eyes popped open looking bleary and unfocused. Once they laid eyes on her, they seemed to become more alert. Making a soft groaning sound, he pushed himself up and stared at her. And then at the food. And then back again.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Just thought you'd be hungry. This is a pretty light meal so you shouldn't puke it right back up." She looked at the food with a scrutinizing glance before redirecting her gaze back to Percy's ... Who was still staring at her. She placed the plate on his nightstand (beside an unused Gatorade and medicine she noted) and stood awkwardly to the side.

Percy finally seemed to get out of his trance and made an attempt to grab the spoon. Attempt as in his hand shakily reached out, tentatively grabbed the spoon... And promptly dropped it. The silverware clattered to the ground. Right, his condition had worsened because the stupid Seaweed Brain hadn't taken his medicine. _Joy_.

There was a brief silence before Annabeth sighed, took a nearby chair, and sat down by Percy's bedside. With her fingers, she picked up a blue strawberry and offered it to him. Without a word, Percy let her feed him staring at her with those uncanny piercing green eyes the whole time. And that wasn't the only uncanny thing about this whole situation. The silence-it was so foreign to this household. Percy was always chatting, always making jokes, always making flirtatious comments to his _wife_ no less. And for the past five days... Nothing. Which was why it was son startling when a weak, raspy, voice drew her from her thoughts. "Thanks"

Annabeth looked at the plate; he'd finished about half which was technically better than nothing. Oh and she should probably acknowledge his thanks. Looking at Percy, she nodded. Then she uncapped the blue Gatorade bottle and measured the right amount of medicine before handing both to him. He took the medicine without a single complaint. She saw him swallow and lay back down, turning so that his back faced her.

Annabeth was decently surprised. Usually it took coercing in the form of hundreds of kisses to just get Percy to drink one dosage. She shook herself from her stupor and watched the man shiver. That fever had to be lowered. The medicine would do it's job soon enough but Annabeth needed to bring that fever down _now._

Entering the adjacent bathroom, she took a towel and put it under cold tap water before getting all the excess water out. Opening the tap again, she filled a small basin and exited the bathroom with both it and the towel. Sitting down at her spot, she took the towel in one hand and with the other tenderly pushed Percy's sweaty bangs out of the way. His eyes shot open at her touch and stared - _seriously_ what was up with this guy and staring? - as Annabeth carefully placed the cool towel atop his head. Making soft soothing noises, she ran a hand through his damp hair. In all honestly it was actually pretty entertaining watching his already messy hair get even more crazy. But it seemed to do the trick. Within seconds Percy's eyes clamped shut, one of his hands tightly gripped around Annabeth's.

Annabeth sent the sleeping 23 year old a small sad smile.

 _You drool when you sleep._

That time seemed so, so, far away. When she and Percy were 12, they met at a summer camp, officially anyway. She'd seen Percy before . . . On the bus that took them to Camp Half-Blood. The bus on which Annabeth saw a green eyed boy hit the hay as soon as he sat down and begin to drool. The first time they talked, the first thing that came out of Annabeth's mouth was _literally_ "You drool when you sleep."

It'd been awkward to say the least. Back then Annabeth was very closed off, a brainy and ambitious child (she still was... Just not that much). Percy taught her to relax and have fun. She'd tamed his waves with her calm wisdom. And it was basically love at first sight. Sure, they experienced obstacles but then again no one had ever said it was going to be easy. A month from now would mark their first marriage anniversary.

That recent fight they'd experienced was honestly one of the biggest and ugliest ones Annabeth had ever faced. Yet she had to hang in there, because marriages weren't perfect and not everything about them was fluffy clouds and sunshine. Sometimes, storms came and you just... You just had to learn to overcome them.

Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson were two very, very, different people. They had different likes, different dislikes, different opinions, and different personalities. But somehow they managed to balance the other out.

While Annabeth wished that the fight between them had not happened, while she wished that their world would be perfect forever, she knew it wouldn't. One just had to keep on moving forward. Because it was worth it. Marriage could be a very beautiful thing as well. It sometimes brought pain sure but it also brought joy and happiness and laughter. And the good times heavily outweighed the bad. They would be okay.

Now to get out of her depressing thoughts . . .

Untangling her hand from Percy's, she grabbed the already hot cloth, dipped it in the basin, and rinsed it out again before laying it across his forehead. Then she settled into a comforting pattern.

She would read a bit, work on company stuff, play around with architecture programs on her laptop, watch movies on Percy's flat screen, give Percy his medicine, and every hour or so change the cloth and eventually the basin water too. Then repeat.

The only time she left the room was to go get some more blue fruits and cook herself some quick food. Percy would sometimes come around while she was watching a movie and he would sit up and begin watching it too or when she was reading, and sometimes when she was singing (If he became restless or his condition seemed to worsen and his sleep became fitful, Annabeth would begin to sing songs with the grazing touch of a sweet lullaby).

All in all she had a Disney marathon (Percy was awake for all of Tangled and could she just say that it got stuffy in the room when the whole "I see the light" shebang started going with the romance and the moments, and well, with the couple's current status . . . Yeah stuffy and uncomfortable indeed), and an Avengers Marathon too (Percy reverted into little kid when it came to Captain America).

Time flew by and little by little, Percy seemed to get better. His face no longer looked so deathly pale and his shivers became less frequent. Before Annabeth knew it, her eyes were drooping from exhaustion and she could barely keep her them open. Leaving some random Disney movie playing in the background (they were on a loop so as soon as one ended another would start), the last thing she saw was Percy's easy breathing and quiet rest before she allowed herself to be enveloped in sleep.

 **/0/0/0/0/0/**

Percy Jackson was somewhere between the land of the living and the land of slumber.

Suddenly, _Hakuna Matata . . . It means no worries. For the rest. Of your days?_

Wait what?! His eyes flew open. He found the source of his thoughts to be his TV. Why was his flatscreen on at - he looked at his alarm clock and his eyes widened comically - 3 AM!?

The everything came rushing back to him like wind; the fight, the rain, his horrible cold and-

 _Annabeth!_

He was wide awake now yanking the wet towel off his head and quickly moving his gaze to the spot where his wife had been the entire day. Surely she wasn't still here, surely she was asleep in her room!

No, of course not. Percy's heart fell; Annabeth was still in her chair but had her knees pulled up to her chest and her head burrowed in her her arms. She'd basically curled in on herself. Getting off the bed swiftly, Percy offhandedly noted that he definitely hadn't gone to sleep with his current pajamas before silently walking over to Annabeth. He picked her up bridal style and buried his face in her soft hair for a few seconds; the blonde didn't even stir. Carefully, Percy placed her on the left side of the bed, tugged some covers over her, and without a sound, took the right side for himself. Laying there with nothing to entertain himself but his thoughts, he couldn't help but resist the urge to yell at himself for being such a jerk.

He turned so that he could face the girl of his dreams, the girl he married, the girl he _hurt_.

He'd been stupid, he'd been reckless. He'd lashed out.

 _"Oh, so this is my fault?"_

 _"Yes Percy, it is. I told you not to do that didn't I? I told you it was a stupid but that didn't stop you did it?"_

The initial cause had been something legitimate and yes, it'd also been mostly Percy's fault. But things rapidly escalated. What came next, it had nothing to do with the effects of that cause.

 _"Because you're always right aren't you Miss-know-it-all?_

 _"I'm not saying that" this time, her tone was more irritated and more on edge "I'm saying that I spoke to you of the consequences and what could happen. And you didn't listen."_

They weren't even fighting over the current situation. No, instead it had simply been the excuse, the wormhole, to finally get clear shots at one another.

 _"It's exactly about that! You think you know everything, you think the world revolves you and nothing is done without your command!" He was screaming now._

 _Her cool flew out the window "And you're much better? Diving into situations head on without even stopping to think on how your stupid decisions affect those around you! Doing what's best for you and what's easier for you!_

Both were pecking at each other, trying to get the other riled up and for Annabeth, it was working.

 _"At least I actually face my problems instead of hiding - at least I actually take risks!"_

 _"That's what you call it? Because the way I see it, you just run away. You can tell yourself that you're not all you want but you are. You. Are. A. Coward."_

For Percy however, it was not. Nothing he did or said could ruffled Annabeth's feathers even a little bit. And he just wanted a reaction. He wanted her to hurt and to actually get pricked from something. Rage and Hurt were different emotions that provoked different reactions but when mixed, the result was deadly.

His vision went red and his eyes flashed with defiance. And so he took out the cards both were on an unspoken agreement to never use.

 _"Yeah, well I don't live in the fantasy where I can create the perfect world with no problems. I face reality. I'm not so fragile that when something breaks apart in my perfect plan, I break too."_

 _He had to stop. He needed to stop right now but the stone was rolling…_

 _"I'd rather be a coward than take a chance only to have what I wanted to be permanent break at my feet. I'm not the reason people leave me because I was too stupid to be able to make things work out -"_

 _Rolling…._

 _" - because I couldn't build something that would last."_

There he'd said it. The words were out and he couldn't take them back and in the spur of the moment, he decided he didn't want to. It was nice to get the final word out of these fights. It felt good to be able to strike back and actually land a punch.

And then he saw Annabeth's face. She didn't bother even attempting to look strong or indifferent. Her eyes were wide and glassy and she seemed so vulnerable. The hurt that was in her eyes, the jagged pain she looked at Percy with, it was unbearable. It tore at him.

 _"I guess I couldn't."_ Her words were shaky, her tone broken. She shook her head and a single tear fell; Annabeth, the bravest person Percy had ever known turned around and walked away.

The words still haunted him; I guess I couldn't. This marriage, it was supposed to be permanent; it was supposed to be living proof that the two would stick together and wouldn't leave each other no matter what.

 _I guess I couldn't._

Afterwards, Percy had just stood there wondering if he even knew himself anymore. His bedroom and Annabeth's were directly in front of one another so he'd been able to hear every single heart broken sob the beautiful gray-eyed girl had uttered.

He should've said he was sorry. He should've said something! But Annabeth was right; he was a coward.

The following four days had been literal torture. Neither he or Annabeth spoke to each other at all, not even for work. That was a feat considering the two supposedly had to work side by side, but Annabeth found ways. When she was determined to do something, she accomplished it. She locked herself in her office claiming she had urgent matters that needed to be finished as soon as possible, she ran errands and was the one who attended meetings at other companies. She went out with friends and spent most of the day with them and ate at different mealtimes than Percy. She wouldn't even glance at him.

And honestly Percy didn't know what he would have done if she had. In a way he was relieved because it gave him time to process things but enough finally became enough. He couldn't take it. So he had done something stupid for the umpteenth time.

On the fifth day, (the day before his dumb cold to be more exact) he got into his car and drove to a nature trail. Rain was pouring down, harsh and wet. Percy in all his smartness had stood outside on that trail with no umbrella and no jacket for about an hour just letting the rain hit him; freezing cold droplets just falling. It was his way of blocking the rest of the world out.

He came back a soaked and shivering mess even more miserable than before. He'd sat in his room thinking about a similar time when he'd been soaked and he'd been cold but he hadn't been alone.

It'd been during his and Annabeth's honey moon; the "just married couple" were riding a Tandem bike together when it started to rain. Percy had stopped immediately, herded Annabeth into a nearby store and told her to stay put for a few minutes while he went to get the car. Problem was the car was about 2 miles back so in a burst of Percy-ness, he had literally driven a tandem bike for two miles in the pouring rain. Needless to say, he'd been soaked and stiff by the time the two had gotten back to the hotel room. Annabeth though, caring Annabeth had been there for him then.

She'd given him a new pair of clothes, told him to get changed and to be out in "two minutes or else!" In that commanding voice of hers. Running a towel through his hair, she kept him talking and laughing. Soon the two were watching a movie, sitting on the bed with Annabeth's head on his shoulder and his arm around her. He'd warmed up pretty darn quick.

That day, with shivers wracking his whole body and cold seeping into his bones, Percy had never wanted anything more in his life than he had Annabeth. And of course, everybody knew what happened next. Even though he'd changed into warmer clothes, the rain had done it's toll.

A headache the size of Jupiter had exploded into his head and when he woke up, his own legs couldn't even support his weight. He'd been pretty pitiful. And what was worse was that he knew that his whole miserable day would be spent in agony stuck somewhere between freezing and boiling with a mixture of pain and hurt thrown into the batch.

It'd never occurred to him that Annabeth would actually choose to stay and watch after him-after the guy who'd crushed her without a second thought.

So when he'd awakened to find gray eyes locked with his, well he couldn't believe it. And when Annabeth made the first contact she'd had with him in like a bajillion years, he wasn't to eager to let go. There was something about her touch-it was soothing and caring, just like Annabeth herself. The whole day had been somewhat surreal to Percy. 'Cause I mean come on, one day she won't even look at him and the next she's feeding him?

Especially when he didn't deserve it. He didn't know why she stayed-there was simply no logical reason. What he did know however was that he missed her. Her smile, her laugh, her voice, her touch.

Slowly, he adjusted his position so that he was barely an inch away from Annabeth and draped his arm over her in a protective gesture. On instinct it seemed, she closed the distance and put her head against Percy's chest, she was still asleep; she had to be or else she would've probably shoved him off the bed.

With his arms wrapped tightly around Annabeth and his chin resting over her messy blonde curls, he kissed the top of her head, _I am so sorry._

And that was how he stayed for the rest of the night, stuck somewhere inside his chaotic mind. Eyes squeezed shut… just thinking.

 **/0/0/0/0/0/**

Soaked in darkness, he must've somehow fallen asleep (because hey, even if he had slept the whole day a way, he still relinquished sleep… who didn't?). Before he knew it, sunlight was streaming in and he was abruptly sitting up thinking _'SHOOT! I can't afford to be absent at the company again!'._

Then he realized it was Saturday and with that very revealing realization came another: FOOD! He could smell the delectable aroma from here. Annabeth had to be cooking some seriously yummy stuff!

Getting dressed in record time (the motivation of pancakes did that to you), Percy was halfway to the kitchen a when yet another revealing bomb was dropped on him: The Fight.

Oh gods, how could he have forgotten?!

His cheerful good humor flew out the window and he was back to gloomy-doomy .

Sinking to his knees, his head fell back onto the sea green wall. Gah, why was this so hard?

He had a better question yet: how could he be so stupid?!

Feeling the very strong urge to pull every single one of his hairs out, he settled on a decision. He would act normal-yeah. Act like the past week hadn't even occurred and hoped that Annabeth would too.

This was his drive as he casually stepped into the kitchen where, yes, blue pancakes were set on a plate.

"Good Morning," He greeted easily.

Annabeth's back was turned since she was using the coffee machine. "Morning Percy,

Percy released the breath he didn't even know he was holding. Okay, so normal it was... So why didn't he feel more relieved? Happy even? Instead why was disappointment dragging itself through his stomach?

Annabeth finished making her coffee And turned around. She looked as beautiful as ever. Holding up the black substance, she looked at Percy. "I'm making some coffee - "

Without warning, Percy interrupted her."Why?"

Annabeth gave him a weird glance "Um, because without coffee I become sleeping beauty."

He shook his head; it was as if his body had a mind of it's own, because just what was he doing?!

"Yesterday I mean. I was sick and you - " he sighed "Why?" Well, there he went. So much for normality. But it was becoming clearer to him by the second that he needed to know why she'd stayed. He just did.

"Oh" Annabeth placed the pot on the counter before deciding how to word her answer. Percy could tell by the expressions she was making. Finally, she spoke.

"Because I made a vow to you, Percy, to remain at your side and support you in the good times... And the bad."

The 23 year old felt his heart fall painfully. _Oh_. "So you helped me solely because you didn't want to go back on your word?"

 _"No!"_ She furrowed her eyebrows and her voice became tight. Percy didn't know what to think. A rigid silence settled over them until Annabeth swallowed and stared directly into Percy's eyes - those stormy gray orbs bore into his very soul. Calm one moment and fierce the next but always powerful. "I respected my oath, I stayed by your side, because... because..." Somehow the two were now less than two feet away from the other and with a burst of confidence, Annabeth took a daring step forward. One foot away. _"Because I love you seaweed brain. What other reason do I need?"_ Her voice faltered. "What other reason do _you_ need?" It was a broken whisper.

Percy stared at her breathlessly. And then he blinked. He was through staring. It didn't matter how much he didn't deserve Annabeth or her love. He had it anyway. So instead of beating himself up for his mistakes, Percy was going to rectify them—or at least he was going to _try_. The past was exactly that—The Past. It was not going to change.

But now, now was the present and it was always changing. What he decided to do in the here and now would impact and form his future. Because he too had meant it when he said _'I do'_

That special thing he had with Annabeth was _real_ —it was lasting. What they were building was permanent—a monument to endure hardships and obstacles.

With one final step, Percy closed the distance between Annabeth and himself. They were less than an inch away from each other. With a tender hand, Percy brushed a strand of Annabeth's hair while the other tilted her chin upwards. "When I said you couldn't build something that would last, I was wrong. I know you can because you never give up. Because have a resilient, kind spirit. _Because you have something permanent with me."_

Giving her a goofy smile and brushing a tear that streaked down her cheek, he softly whispered, "You don't need any other reason because I love you too, Wise Girl."

Without another word, he brought his lips down to hers.

Their intertwined hands were knit closely together. Tightly gripped as if neither planned on letting go. Forever and Ever.

 _I guess you **could.**_

 ** _AN:_** No guys, I am not leaving the YJ fandom completely and No, I am not becoming a world renown romantic/sappy writer. Cuz like Eeeew. I however do adore Percabeth hence why I wrote this. *happy dance* Yayy

Um… And I'm back? This thing would just not leave me alone so here you go... *Nervous smile* yeah imma just... Go.

WOO-HOO PEEPS MY FIRST PJO STORY! Thanks for reading and hope you loved it!

~AF


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